November 2013 – Lyn Goes Flat Hunting

By November I had been in New Zealand over four months and whilst I was enjoying life I was missing moving around. Thankfully the month started off with my brother announcing that he and his wife were thinking of visiting in 2015 and one of my good Aussie friends mentioned a possible trip even sooner.  As well as being excited at the prospect of taking holidays I was extremely excited at the thought of spending time with some of my favourite people. Of course whilst the thought of travelling with friends in the future was exciting it did bring out the desire to travel sooner. Work was fine but I was finding the responsibility and commitment a little overwhelming. I also found out that my manger was leaving in the beginning of the New Year which made me question my agreement to stay for the full year I was allowed to work, even more so once the possibility of me taking over her job was mentioned. After much soul searching I decided to give the ‘proper’ job/life a real go. Therefore after 5 months of living in the hostel I decided it was time to move out of my four share room and find a flat share instead.

Being me once I made the decision within a week I had set up some viewing, gone to said viewings and found somewhere to live. I have never flat shared with strangers before and found the thought of being ‘interviewed’ slightly intimidating. I was aware that I should also be assessing them as much as they were me but had no idea where to start. I figured questions about the rent, bills and cleaning schedule were obvious but then ran out of ideas. I did try asking my friends via the wonder of FB but several Shallow Grave references later I regretted it, thanks FB friends. The first place I saw the room was large but just off of the lounge and with 6 or 7 other younger working holiday tourists I felt that it was not for me. Thus it was with a certain amount of trepidation that I attended my second viewing.  This turned out to be much more successful. It was a smaller flat much closer to my work and gym. The flatmates were 3 kiwis who were in there twenties and thirties with proper jobs. I was completely honest about having no idea how long I was staying (hopefully at least 7 months, possibly longer but maybe less if everything went tits up!) but they decided that I was the best bet out of everyone they saw and offered me the room. I was very excited, after months of sharing and living in a hostel I would once more be living in a proper home and have my own room. All I needed now was some furniture and I was set.

Apart from the not-so-great-flat hunt it was quite a month. There was the bizzzare feeling of settling into my new life of responsibility (yeauch!) and was planning on trying to make it even more ‘normal’. Eventually I even managed to start writing again. It had been months since I had written anything and finally I was inspired. I realised that by staying put I had allowed myself to process another stage of my grieving. I was angry at Jonathan and finally I was ready to admit and confront that anger and in confronting it I was able to start moving on from it. After months of not writing I finally wrote a very long essay on my feelings which in itself started the healing process. Unfortunately after writing and posting this essay I went online to discover that my brother had been in a pub in Glasgow when a helicopter crashed in to it. Thankfully he and his friends were fine but it was a sobering moment. So many people hurt, so many families suffering the loss of their loved ones starting on the journey that I even now am still travelling. It shook me. It upset me. Mostly though, it made me thankful. It made me thankful for the family and friends that I still had.  It made me thankful that for all I lost I have so very much left.